Heald shaft for looms



P 1949. A. BLICKENSTORFER 2,482,149

HEALD SHAFT FOR LOOMS Filed Feb. 15, 1946 FIG. I FIG. 2 2 2 z" 4 INVENITOR. ALBERT BLICKENSTORFER,

FIG. 3

' Attorney Patented Sept. 20, 1949 HEALD SHAFT FOR LOOMS Albert Blickenstorfer, Horgen, Switzerland, assignor to Grob & 00., Aktiengesellschaft, Horgen, Switzerland Application February 15, 1946, Serial No. 647,718 In Switzerland April 10, 1945 2 Claims.

My present invention relates to improvements in heald shafts and in reinforcing same; and the objects of my improvements are, first, to keep down the Weight of the shaft, second, to reinforce the stationary portions of the shaft at the points contacted by the movable parts thereof, and third, to generally strengthen the shaft.

I attain these and related objects by the reinforced shaft shown in a single embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the shaft; Fig- 2 a section thereof on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 in a larger scale; Fig. 3 a cross-section of one of the four reinforcing flanges before being rolled down on and clamped fast to the top and bottom rail of the shaft; Fig. 4 a cross-section through the bottom portion of one of the said two rails, before securing the said reinforcing flanges thereto; and Fig. 5 a similar cross-section with the said reinforcing flange fastly secured to the end of the rail web.

The shaft according to Fig. 1 comprises a bottom rail I and. a top rail 2 which are made for the sake of a reduction in weight, of light metal and, for the sake of strength, of flattened tubular section. The said rails are provided with a top and a bottom web each, drawn integral therewith and designated by la, lb and 2a, 21) respectively.

A lifting hook 4 and a lowering hook 3 ride longitudinally displaceable along the webs la and 2a of the bottom and the top rail l and 2 respectively, and may be disengageably clamped thereto. A slide bracket 5 engaging the healdstringup stave 6 hook-like, and a slide bracket 1 similarly engaging the stave B, are mounted longitudinally displaceable on the webs lb and 2b of the said rails l and 2 respectively. The healds or heddles 9 are mounted displaceable on the said staves 6 and 8.

Frames l I are fastly secured to the ends of the said rails l and 2, e. g., by means of the rivets III or in any other suitable manner, and the ends of the said staves 6 and 8 are supported therein. The frames ll are made for example of wood. The said frames ll, together with the said rails l and 2, afford a very rigid stay which, in normal operation, is not deflected or warped.

The webs la, lb and 2a, 2b of the rails I and 2 are subjected to a comparatively great wear 2 from the part of the slide hooks 3, 4 and the slide brackets 5 and 1 respectively. The main object of my present invention, now, is to reduce this wear as much as possible, while, at the same time, keep down the weight of the shaft by the use of structural material in the form of light metal; and this is accomplished in one form of invention through the application of steel reinforcing-strips to the said webs at the points of contact with the said hooks and slide brackets.

In the example of a heald shaft shown, therefore, the said webs are provided with steel flanges l2 and I3 which form abutments for the hooks 3, 4 and the slide brackets 5, 1 respectively- The rails l, 2 and their integral webs la, lb and 2a, 2b are made of light metal, while the said flanges are made of steel and may be hardened.

The reinforcing flanges, which may be designated as the rails proper, are of wide U-section before being mounted on the said webs. The latter are bulbed at their free ends l4 (Figs. 4 and 5) so as to afford a good anchorage for the reinforcing flanges which are rolled and pressed down thereonto (Fig. 5). Since the web-reinforcing and track-forming flanges l2 and I3 are of comparatively small width, taken at right angles to the said webs, the slide members 3, 4, 5 and l, in particular the last two, may be made of a correspondingly narrow width too so as to take up only very little space in the direction of the passing warp threads.

What I claim and desire to secure by Lettters Patent is:

1. In a heald shaft for looms having two stationary rails connected by side supports and movable members thereon, each of said rails comprising a flattened tubular section of light low strength metal, a top and bottom web formed on each said rail, reinforcing means secured on the free ends of each said web, said reinforcing means being of a higher strength material than said rails, said reinforcing means providing running tracks for said movable members whereby a light weight, durable heald shaft is obtained.

2. In a heald shaft for looms as claimed in claim 1, said webs having enlarged bulb shaped free end portions, said reinforcing means being members generally U-shaped in cross-section and of a hardened steel, said reinforcing members being clamped around said bulb shaped portions and having flat free end portions providing the Number track for said movable members. 1,866,908 ALBERT BLICKENSTORF'ER. 2,070,164 2,082,480 REFERENCES CITED 5 2 21 32 The following references are of record in the 3,255,156 file of this patent: 8 ,124

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 10 Number 451,171 Reilley et a1 Apr. 28, 1891 3 232 1,727,185 ll-Thompson. ;.=;s.sept; 3, 1929 Name Date Robertson July 12, 1932 Gloor et a1. Feb. 9, 1937 Carr June 1, 1937 Zurcher et a]. Oct. 1, 1940 Figge -1- Sept. 9, 1941 Streuli July 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1913 Great Britain May.24, 192B 

